The present invention relates to a passive safety belt device for protecting a passenger seated in a vehicle, such as an automobile, from injury.
A passive safety belt device has been provided in which a safety belt is automatically fitted to the passenger's body by closing the door of the vehicle, such as an automobile, and the safety belt is automatically removed from the passenger's body by opening the door, whereby the passenger is enabled to get out of the vehicle.
A passive safety belt device in which a safety belt extends diagonally across the passenger's body from one shoulder to the opposite hip is preferably employed in vehicles and this kind of safety belt is known as a "shoulder belt". When providing an automatic passive safety belt device of the shoulder belt type, the safety belt is connected between a retractor provided on a floor of a central portion of the vehicle and an anchor attached to a sash of the door adjacent the seat. However, the safety belt cannot be provided in a vehicle having sash-less doors. In order to attach the safety belt to a vehicle with sash-less doors, a side rail is provided on an upper portion of the side of the vehicle body and the end of the safety belt is slidably engaged with the side rail. Further, a guiding device for moving the end of the safety belt longitudinally and a driving means for the guiding device are provided. Therefore, the conventional passive safety belt device is complicated in construction and expensive and requires considerable space for its installation.